Minority Narratives and National Memory

The establishment of international human rights has resulted in a radical change in the relation between minority groups and states. Modern democracies are obliged to create political and social conditions that guarantee a common ground for the minority, as well as the majority. However, it seems that history has left its mark on this common ground. This anthology shows how boundaries between the minority and the majority have, over time, created a remarkable asymmetric coexistence that appears to be continuing, despite international legal norms. The idea that a singular national ethos belongs to a particular geographical region has been naturalized at great cost for many minorities. One such cost is the silencing of minority narratives as part of a nation's history. The different case studies in this collection of essays well illustrate nationalism's project to wipe out memories of plurality.